Gag Order? That Must Be UnConstitutional
Have you heard about this gag order? Is this what a government “of the people, for the people, and by the people” is supposed to be? How can this be in a republic? We have came a long way from a battle for freedom that Almighty God made possible over two hundred years ago. In a letter to the editor in the Press Tribune in Nampa, Idaho, today 9/25/2009 the writer talking about this kind of thing, said at the end, “look in your bible at Galatians 4:9″. If you don’t understand what this is talking about or how it relates to today, please tell me and I will explain where I am coming from. Start in Galatians 4:3 to get more idea about 4:9.
It appears we are returning to the bondage that was fought against and won over only by the Divine help of Father God. If you don’t believe me go back to your history books. A great book to read about this is “The Light and the Glory” by Peter Marshall and David Manuel.
But, they say “history repeats itself”, but they also say ”experience is a great teacher”. It seems that any great society only lasts for about 200 years, I guess that is about how much time it takes to forget what was fought for!
In other words folks, We Have Had It Too Easy For Too Long!
This report from the Republican National Committee was emailed to me by a friend yesterday. I did not know about the gag order and maybe you didn’t either so here is the message I received.
Contact:Josh Holmes 202.228.NEWS
John Ashbrook
SENATE GOP LEADERSHIP, GRASSLEY, ENZI CALL ON SECRETARY SEBELIUS TO RESCIND “GAG ORDER”
“Until Your Department Rescinds Its Gag Order And Allows Seniors To Receive Information About Matters Before Congress, We Will Not Consent To Time Agreements On The Confirmation Of Any Nominees To Your Department Or Associated Agencies”
WASHINGTON, DC – Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican Whip Jon Kyl, Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander, Policy Chairman John Thune, Vice Conference Chair Lisa Murkowski, NRSC Chairman John Cornyn, Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee Charles Grassley, and Ranking Member of the Senate HELP Committee Mike Enzi released the following letter calling on Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius to rescind the “gag order” issued by CMS this week.
September 24, 2009
The Honorable Kathleen Sebelius
Secretary
Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20201
Dear Secretary Sebelius:
America’s 11 million seniors enrolled in the Medicare Advantage program deserve to be informed of any potential actions that could be taken by the federal government that could have broad implications on the Medicare program. Medicare Advantage Plans and Prescription Drug Plans that provide services through the Medicare program have a constitutional right to provide information about these Medicare programs to their customers. Therefore, we hope you understand our grave concern with the recent Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services directive barring all such providers from any and all communications of this kind with America’s seniors. This gag order must be immediately lifted.
As the Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized, our constitutional tradition is one of “a profound commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open.” Health plans, of course, have the right to speak on matters of public concern, a fundamental principle that your department, until recently, recognized and respected. Specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had previously noted that there was no legal authority to justify prohibiting a health plan “from informing its members of proposed legislation and exhorting them to express their opinions” about it. In fact, HHS had previously determined that shutting down communication of this sort “would violate basic freedom of speech and other constitutional rights of the Medicare beneficiary as a citizen.”
Now, the Obama administration has reversed this longstanding HHS decision – in the midst of a critical debate about the future of health care services in our country – to shut down communication between private companies and America’s seniors on an issue that has a direct impact on their health care. Your department has done this by imposing an industry-wide gag order without apparent justification or basis in law, contradicting your past public guidance and the plain language and spirit of the First Amendment, among the most sacred tenets of our democracy.
America’s seniors and the health plans that serve them deserve to have their free speech rights respected. Their rights should not be subject to the whims of any administration, and the health plans that serve them should not be threatened with punishment if they speak out on a matter of public concern simply because the administration disagrees with their position.
Until your department rescinds its gag order and allows seniors to receive information about matters before Congress, we will not consent to time agreements on the confirmation of any nominees to your department or associated agencies.
Thank you for your consideration of this matter of such great importance to America’s seniors.
Signed,
Republican Leader Mitch McConnell
Republican Whip Jon Kyl
Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander
Republican Policy Chairman John Thune
Vice Conference Chair Lisa Murkowski
NRSC Chairman John Cornyn
Ranking Member on Senate Finance Committee Charles Grassley
Ranking Member on Senate HELP Committee Mike Enzi
